Caran d'Ache Neopastel - Ultramarine

Pigment Information

This color contains the following pigments:

PB1-Victoria Blue

PB29-Ultramarine [Blue]

Pigment Name

PB1-Victoria Blue

Pigment Type

organic

Chemical Formula

Properties

Victoria Blue is a brilliant, transparent reddish blue dye, which can be laked as a pigment. Because its tinting power is not so overwhelming as that of Phthalo Blue pigments, it still has a place on the designer's palette, even though Phthalo Blue (Red Shade) might be considered superior in many respects.

Permanence

Victoria Blue is considered fugitive. It should be used primarily in works that are prepared for reproduction, not for permanent display, when there is a need for a transparent blue pigment with less tinting power than Phthalo Blue.

Toxicity

Victoria Blue is not considered toxic.

History

Victoria Blue, one of the oldest synthetic blue dyes, is used in papers, inks, and textile dyes. Although much more reddish in tone, it was an early synthetic replacement for indigo dyes from natural sources at a time when blue was still in great demand in textiles.

Pigment Name

PB29-Ultramarine [Blue]

Pigment Type

inorganic

Chemical Name

complex silicate of sodium and aluminum with sulfur

Chemical Formula

Na8-10Al6Si6O24S2-4 or Na6-8Al6Si6O24S2-4

Properties

Ultramarine is the standard warm blue, a brilliant blue pigment that has the most purple and least green in its undertone. It has a moderate to high tinting strength and a beautiful transparency. Synthetic Ultramarine is not as vivid a blue as natural Ultramarine. Ultramarine dries slowly in oil and tends to produce clean, though granular, washes in watercolor. French Ultramarine mixes well with Alizarin colors in oil and watercolor form to create a range of purples and violets. It can dull when mixed with white in acrylic form, but mixes well with other colors. The shade varies based on manufacturer. Considered a great color for glazes, it is not suitable for frescoing.

Permanence

Ultramarine has excellent permanence, although synthetic Ultramarine is not as permanent as natural Ultramarine. It may discolor if exposed to acid because of its sulfuric content.

Toxicity

Ultramarine has no significant hazards.

History

The name for this pigment comes from the Middle Latin ultra, meaning beyond, and mare, meaning sea, because it was imported from Asia to Europe by sea. It is a prominent component of lapis lazuli and was used on Asian temples starting in the 6th century. It was one of the most expensive pigments in 16th century Europe, worth twice its weight in gold, and so was used sparingly and when commissions were larger. Ultramarine is currently imitated by a process invented in France in 1826 by Jean Baptiste Guimet, making blue affordable to artists and extending the range of colors on their palettes.